(13 Dec 2018) Three people missing since last weekend were found alive Wednesday and rescued from an underground coal mine in southern West Virginia, authorities said. TV news video later showed them emerging from an ambulance as friends and family cheered. (Dec. 13)

(12 Nov 2018) Retired Army paratrooper Richard Ojeda chose Veterans Day to unveil his bid for the presidency in 2020. The Democratic state senator from West Virginia made the announcement Monday at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Nov. 12)

(6 Nov 2018) Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia has turned back a challenge by Republican Patrick Morrisey to win his second full-term in the U.S. Senate in a state carried by President Donald Trump. (Nov. 6)

Republicans are focusing on turning out their base, too — sending surrogates out to help push their candidates over the finish line. One of the biggest draws on the stump this season is Presidential son, Donald Trump. Jr.

But why do people love Don Jr?

We went to a rally in West Virginia to see if people are coming to these events to see the man himself, or the man who raised him.

More than 200 people came to hear a Trump — basically any Trump — give them the full Trump Tower experience and also to support Patrick Morrisey. But Don Jr isn’t alone on the trail. Former Fox News Host and current girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle joins him at most of his campaign stops. As it turns out, Junior might actually be a little better than his father when it comes to staying on a coherent message.

“Why is it always up to the poor to save this country?” says Democrat Richard Ojeda, who is attempting to flip one of America’s most conservative congressional districts and reclaim corners of Trump country for Democrats. The part GI Joe, part steadfast advocate for the working poor is urging voters in West Virginia’s third district to swallow a dose of the economic populism he preaches.

Hundreds of base jumpers brave a 267 metre plunge over the New River Gorge in West Virginia, USA. Every year, thousands of people come to see these thrill-seeking athletes jump and be catapulted from one of the highest road bridges on the American continent during the largest legal gathering of the discipline in the world.

West Virginians had been led by Democrats for decades, but they overwhelmingly backed President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. It’s that political reality that democratic Senator Joe Manchin lives in as he faces a re-election fight against West Virginia State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

In most states, Trump’s overwhelming popularity would mean a democratic senator wouldn’t have a chance, but Manchin has more than a chance. According to one of the latest polls out of the state, which was conducted before Manchin voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the senator was beating his opponent by eight points.

So what is it about West Virginian voters that allows them to walk a line between support for Trump and support for Manchin and how did Manchin’s vote for Kavanaugh affect their view of the Senator?

Frank Luntz, a veteran Republican pollster, convened a group of 12 swing voters in West Virginia to try to answer that question. People who were chosen to participate either had to have voted for both republican and democratic presidential candidates in the last three elections or if they’ve only voted Republican in presidential elections, needed to have expressed support for Manchin himself. The focus group was conducted on the evening of October 5th, after Manchin had announced he would be supporting Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Some saw his vote for Kavanaugh as a nakedly political move, while others said it means he’s listening to his constituents. But no one seemed particularly happy about the state of politics right now or their choices for Senator.